My review of the Toyota GT86 — You’ll have to REV it, to love it!

Leonard W Foster
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read

Admittedly, I was uber excited when I realised I was going to review the Toyota GT86.

I must admit, I had a Fast and Furious moment when I thought about how low to the ground the car was, and how fast I was going to drive it. I must admit that after driving and reviewing the Toyota C-HR, I felt that the GT86 would blow my mind in a different capacity.

Toyota GT86 — The day it arrived at my door step!

However, and again I must admit (sorry Toyota) that I was a tad disappointed when I first started driving the GT86. I wanted it to to be faster, I wanted it to feel like Vin Diesel in fast and furious. I wanted it to give me a white knuckle ride of thrills and spills. In fact, I assumed that the GT86 would be a car I would love and would want to keep, but it wasn’t.

The GT86 model I drove was the GT86 Pro 2.0L Manual T+G
0–62 MPH in 7.7secs
Top Speed 140MPH
Transmission 6 Speed Manual
Max. Power (bhp/kW @rpm) 197/147 @7,000
Max. Torque (Nm @rpm) 205 @ 6,400–6,000
OTR Price — £28,005
Options — Toyota Touch2 with Go £750 & Metallic Paint £545
Total OTR Price — £29,300

Can you see why I was excited? So when I started driving and realised it didn’t feel as fast as it sounded on paper, I’m sure you can understand my initial disappointment.

Back Shot — Toyota GT86. Look at the wheels, the spoiler, the exhaust pipe, the rear lights and the GT86 badge!

But then came a light bulb moment, that only someone who has driven lots of cars would know. I remembered when I had my Toyota Corolla GT Twin-Cam 16Valve hatchback waaaay back in the day and it was my favourite boy toy at the time.

It was that same light bulb moment that I remembered the high revs and the way how Toyota’s drive. It was that moment that I adjusted my driving skills to match the revs and torque of the GT86. It was that moment that I stopped changing gears so quickly. It was that moment that I literally revved each gear to almost the maximum rpm and it was at that moment that I started enjoying the Toyota GT86.

You simply can’t drive a car like this in your normal way. You have to rev it, and I mean rev it hard. You have to be absolutely die hard with your gear shifting. You have to rev each gear to its limit to feel the power and prowess.

See the full review here

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Leonard W Foster

Written by

Founder of Flavourmag Trying to experience everything life has to offer, like a true epicure…

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